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Saturday, 10 October 2009

Continuing from my last article on Nutrition, where we talked about WATER, let's understand here the basics of Nutrition.

Many years back I had read an article from Dr. Vijaya Venkat, eminent nutritionist and founder of Trust for Re-education and Understanding of True Health (TRUTH). I am quoting many of her thoughts here, as I find her views radical but truly holistic.

As Health is much more than the absence of disease, and is not limited to attaining a pre-determined height or weight, similarly Nutrition is not limited to food intake. In fact Nutrition is the understanding of how our body works, what it needs and what it does not. It is the philosophy of life in itself. It covers air, water, sunshine, activities, relationships, attitudes, feelings, apart from food.

To respect the physiological processes of our body, let's understand cyclical rhythm that includes digestion, assimilation and elimination. Each of these cycles has duration of eight hours. From noon to 8PM is the time to eat, as the body is in the digestion mode and can efficiently break down nutrients. From 8PM till 4AM are the period when our body repairs and builds, making new cells and tissue through the nutrition it has received. From 4AM till noon is a cleansing period. Having assimilated all nutrients, the body spends eight hours detoxifying and eliminating waste products.

This is the basics, for right eating. Whenever we disturb this harmony, problems start surfacing. Hence managing our eating habits according to these cycles is the key to Good Health. The secret of losing excess weight, feeling more energetic, getting rid of illness and staying fit lies in following this eight-hour cycle.

Now let's look at what food should be eaten during each of these cycles, so that it supports the physiological processes. It may sound too harsh or radical, but understanding it and making a conscious effort to adopt it, will help in Good Health.

From 4 am till noon, when the body is detoxifying, it is preferred to restrict to fruits as they are body cleansers and energy givers. Fruits high water content helps in cleansing; it leaves no toxic residue and demands minimal energy for the purpose of digestion. From noon to 8PM have foods from other groups. Vegetables are body builders. Eat a good helping of raw vegetables, before going for main course. Do not mix fruits with vegetables, and ideally give an hour gap between them. Incorporate sprouted beans and nuts as your evening snacks.

You may not be able to follow this in completeness, but being aware of it is the first RIGHT step. Allow your body to clean and purify itself and eliminate toxins to restore normal body balance.

And finally, Heal yourself through CARE not CURE. Please remember cure is out of fear, CARE is out of faith.

In my next article, we will move to the next component of Good Health - Physical Exercise. I hope this series is educational for our readers, and EMPOWERING them, to take charge of their health forever.